Five steps to creating art with your kids | charlotte family photographer

April 28, 2016

art + you + kids

Taylor is a wonderful photographer and mom who does art with her children! I’ve worked with her several times and was so excited when she hired me to photograph her full-of-personality little family! I arrived early in the morning just as everyone was waking up and photographed them as they had breakfast together, got dressed, read books, went for a little walk, and a trip to Target after Dad left for work.

At the end of the session I asked Taylor about a couple of the gorgeous art pieces she had on the wall and discovered that she had created them together with her kids! I loved them and loved hearing about her process of creating these amazing pieces as projects with her kids (I also knew immediately that the next time I photograph them this creative process will have to be included in their session. I can’t wait!).

Taylor + kids + art

I thought you would love hearing about Taylor’s process as well for making some beautiful images in your home. I had never thought of creating paintings or mixed media work WITH my kids! I love seeing their pieces and hanging them up but I wish I would have done this process with them when they were little. It’s such a wonderful opportunity to chat and learn together. Like I always say, “The purpose of the task is to strengthen the relationship.” Clearly, that’s what Taylor is doing in a creative and fun way with her kids.

Here are Taylor’s tips:

1) Have a (semi) plan. You have to have some sort of inspiration, such as a color palate and a theme, before you start. I don’t recommend just throwing paint their way and then saying “have at it.” You’ll only make a muddy mess and you won’t end up loving the creation. Prepare the colors you plan on using ahead of time in small disposable cups, and this will create an image where you already love something about it…the color.

2) Make it fun! Use different techniques that are kid friendly and will keep things interesting. In some of our works of art, we used several different mediums. This also kept the kids engaged and learning as they went!

3) Don’t over think it. Give plenty of direction, but don’t completely control the outcome. You want to have some sort of vision, but you also don’t want to be lecturing your kids on how to do things the right way. Kids will be kids, and sometimes the place a piece is going isn’t what you’ve had in your head. That is totally okay! Be willing to let the work go where it goes. In the end, you might be surprised at how much you love it!

4) Do it often. My kids absolutely love creating. It’s the thing they always suggest doing when there seems to be nothing to do. Canvases can be bought pretty inexpensively at craft stores or online. Be okay with making a mess! This is usually the only thing stopping us from one more creation…

5) Remember why you’re involving them in the first place. When I asked my daughter what her favorite thing about painting is, she said, “Because it’s fun to do something with just you and me.” My kids LOVE to spend time where they feel like they’re actually accomplishing something…but they love quality time even more. At the end the day, even if it’s not your favorite thing hanging up in your home, your children with link the image that they help to create with special time with you!

See more: Also! You can follow Taylor and her daughter, Vera, in their creative adventures making modern art mixed media and paintings on Instagram: @verapaints

what Taylor had to say about her photo session:

“As far as our picture day, I initially had feelings of anxiety about letting someone into our messy lives, and seeing us as we were. With littles, there’s always this “how are they going to behave??” looming in my thoughts. Generally being self-conscious of myself in pictures, there was also that nervousness going into the day. However, when you arrived, my heart was immediately put at ease! I remembered why we had hired YOU. You were so gracious with my crazy house and loud children. The day became a joy instead of a stress! When we first saw the pictures, we piled in front of the slideshow to watch our day unfold…and I fell in love with your photographic style all over again. We loved all the sweet moments you captured that were SO US. Ike’s crazy faces, Vera’s drama, Asa’s smile. I could go on and on. It was such a beautiful snippet of our life where we are now…even as crazy as we are. And after watching it for the sixteenth time while my littles were sleeping in their beds…I fell in love with my life all over again.”

Davina Fear is a Familyness Adventurer. She’s addicted to pumpkin bread and she wants to photograph your family’s everyday awesome-ness. She knows what Wingardium Leviosa means and wishes her kids could have gone to Hogwarts (but they would come home every night and not stay all term).If you are like this family and breakfast is a little crazy, walks turn into running away from barking dogs, and trips to Target are easier with a prize at the end then it’s time for us to talk. Call or text Davina at 704-964-5882

She blogs at davinafear.com and loves when Hot Guy wears his brown cords. Have you signed up her FREE book: The Art of Familyness Photography? Make sure to get it here.